21 April 2013

Enough with the 'tips on safety'!

I find this very annoying. You hear a big news about a crime against women and Facebook is filled with status updates trying to spread word about how women can be more careful when travelling alone at night. They often mention that some "experts" say that women should lookout for this and that, and when faced with blah should try to do blah, or something else. I'd like to ask: do you really expect anyone to remember all this? Travelling alone at night may be harrowing enough for them as it is, especially in the wake of such news. So how do you expect them to stay as sharp as undercover agents all the time? Oh well, fine, maybe it does help an extremely tiny little bit, but isn't there anything better than women having to carry pepper sprays in their handbags? Women need to walk around 'armed'/well-versed in kickboxing/hyper alert, really? I'm sure many of us have seen women having to walk home alone at night, or waiting anxiously for a bus or an auto when such traffic is already dwindling, or even waiting under a deserted bus stop when someone is coming to pick them up. You have seen some of this some time or the other, c'mon, if not total strangers then with some female colleagues. So here's what I suggest: help out, people!If you can:- Offer a lift. Be very polite, ask if she would allow you to drop her home, and then drop her all the way home if you can. - Offer to wait with the lady if she tells you that someone is on his way to pick her up.- Ask if you may walk her to the nearest auto stand or a bus stop. Once there, make sure she finds a transport she's looking for. Here you may want to use some of your "expert" advice of jotting down the license plate details of that auto-rickshaw.- Each time you notice a female colleague leaving when there is hardly anyone left in the office, ask if she could use a lift, if she has booked a cab, if there is anything you may do to help. So you just see her around the office a bit but don't really interact? So what? Do it anyway if needed.- Use YOUR imagination.I'm not saying you can do all of the above all the time, but keep your eyes open, and use your common sense to judge the situation. Of-course if they lady firmly denies your offer to help, be smart and just back off! There is no need to take it personally; the lady knows what she is doing, really (no sarcasm intended). When it comes to colleagues, guys usually are vigilant, as I see around me all the time. But if situation permits, this courtesy could be extended to women not known to you, too.Again, I'm not trying to spell-out a whole instruction manual here for every possible situation, which is why I wrote that last point in the list.Hideous crimes like recent ones may be prevented not because some perv got caught in the act, but because just a few more people were looking out for women and the damned psycho never got to make a move!How about that, guys?Thanks for reading!Aashish. P.S. Feel free to comment or share it with others.